title: Very late relapse after discontinuation of antiviral therapy for chronic hepatitis C.
abstract: Serum HCV RNA rebound beyond 24 weeks after completing hepatitis C therapy has been rarely reported. From 744 patients treated for chronic hepatitis C at our institution, 4 became HCV-RNA-positive again between weeks 36 and 48 post-treatment. Epidemiological and phylogenetic analyses supported very late HCV relapse instead of re-infection in two of them. This observation may have important implications in the pathogenesis and therapeutics of HCV infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Hospital Carlos III, Madrid, Spain. vsoriano@dragonet.es.
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Soriano
authors.forename: Eugenia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vispo
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: de Mendoza
authors.forename: Pablo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Labarga
authors.forename: Zulema
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Plaza
authors.forename: Jose V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Fernandez-Montero
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Poveda
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Treviño
authors.forename: Pablo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Barreiro
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012008:Recurrence; D012254:Ribavirin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D012367:RNA, Viral; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D012254:Ribavirin; C100416:peginterferon alfa-2a